Time and Curses Ii

The first story follows Gracie, the matriarch of the Jackson family in the American South. When she opens her late mother's diary, she finds an illicit love affair and a murder whose echoes reach across the decades. Her daughter Elise, who is lovely but bitter, is listening closely, and she has secrets of her own. The diary's contents set in motion a pattern of deceit, desire and betrayal passed down through generations. The question is whether the turmoil will tear the family apart or open a path toward renewal.

The second story centers on Anita Catoe, a poised, attractive business consultant determined to succeed. To rescue her company, she agrees to an unusual arrangement with Howard Petersen, a wealthy and charming financier. Anita believes their bond is strictly transactional, though it includes intimate time together. That belief collapses when Howard tells her he loves her. Shaken, Anita must face the past that has shaped her, and one night she places herself in a risky situation that changes her life.

Help arrives in the form of Lavendar, a spiritual guide whom Howard sends to her. Together they uncover the buried history that has left Anita stuck in denial and despair, convinced she does not deserve the love she longs for. Can she reclaim her sense of self and accept Howard's proposal?

This is the second volume in the Time and Curses series, and it pairs a multigenerational Southern family drama with a romance about a driven woman's inner struggle.